Method and apparatus for skin absorption enhancement

ABSTRACT

Application of electrical pulses and mechanical vibrations to the skin is provided in a controlled manner, in order to increase the absorption of substances applied previously on the skin. Electrical pulses are provided to the skin by way of an array of electrodes disposed on a vibrating head, and the mechanical vibrations are provided to the skin by way of the vibrating head being made to vibrate. Preferably, the electrical and mechanical vibrations are at the same frequency and phase with respect to each other, in order to increase the absorption effect.

This application is based on Provisional application Ser. No. 60/281,808filed Apr. 6, 2001.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to application of both electrical pulses andmechanical vibrations to the skin at the same time in a controlledmanner, in order to increase the absorption of substances appliedpreviously on the skin.

B. Description of the Related Art

It is known that a mechanical vibration applied to the skin is useful inorder to increase the absorption of a substance previously applied tothe skin. Such a substance may be a liquid, a gel, a lotion, or a cream,for example.

It is desired to provide an apparatus and a method to increase theabsorption of a substance previously applied to the skin, in order toobtain an increased (e.g., moisturizing) affect of the substance appliedto the skin.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to an apparatus and a method forenhancing the absorption of the skin of substances previously applied onthe skin.

To accomplish this, the present invention uses a sequence of electricalpulses (between 20 and 200V peak to peak, preferably, and between 50 and15,000 Hz preferably) provided to electrodes that are placed in contactwith the skin (with the substance provided between the electrodes andthe skin). There is also provided a corresponding surface vibration tothe skin, by application of a mechanical vibration to the skin. Themechanical vibration is preferably of the same frequency and phase asthe electrical pulses applied to the skin. The mechanical vibration isprovided by way of a vibrating plate that also contains the electrodes(which provide the electrical stimulus to the skin at the same time themechanical vibration is provided to the skin).

The substance to be absorbed by the skin is applied between the skin andthe plate. Such a substance may be a cream, liquid or gel (for example,collagen, or cocoa butter, or suntan oil, or other types of skinenhancement lotions).

The method according to the invention includes:

1) The application of a liquid, a gel, a lotion, or a cream on the skin.

2) An apparatus which includes the following elements to perform thepreceding treatment:

a) a vibrating plate.

b) an array of electrodes on the plate.

c) a pulse generator connected to the array of electrodes.

3) The application on the skin of the apparatus in order to enhance thenatural absorption of the substance previously provided on the skin.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing advantages and features of the invention will becomeapparent upon reference to the following detailed description and theaccompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1A is a side view of a vibration mechanism that is disposed withinan apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a front view of the vibration mechanism of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2A shows an array of electrodes provided on an outer surface of thevibration plate that faces the skin, according to a first embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 2B shows an array of electrodes provided on an outer surface of thevibration plate that faces the skin, according to a second embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 2C shows an array of electrodes provided on an outer surface of thevibration plate that faces the skin, according to a third embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 3 shows a side view of a head of a probe that is used to provideboth electrical and mechanical stimulation to the skin, in order to havea substance previously applied to the skin to be absorbed better,according to the invention;

FIG. 4 shows an electrical diagram of a pulse generator that provideselectrical pulses to an array of electrodes disposed on a vibratingplate provided at a head-end of the probe, according to one possibleconfiguration of an apparatus according to the invention;

FIG. 4A shows a train of square-wave pulses that are input to the pulsegenerator of FIG. 4;

FIG. 4B shows a train of exponential pulses that are output from thepulse generator of FIG. 4;

FIG. 5 shows one configuration of a hand-held probe that is used toprovide both electrical and mechanical stimulation to the skin,according to the invention;

FIG. 6 shows a current generator connection according to a fourthembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 shows elements provided at the head portion of a probe, accordingto a fifth embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 8 shows a front view of the head portion of the probe according tothe fifth embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detailbelow, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Based on experimental tests on the skin, it has been found by theinventor that after one or more pulses are applied between two points onthe skin, transpiration (or absorption) in the area between the twopoints on the skin increases. The pulses that give optimal results areexponential pulses that are generated by a charged capacitor dischargedon two points on the skin.

These experimental results have been utilized by the inventor in orderto develop an apparatus and method that maintains the transpiration ofthe skin at a high level, so that the skin can readily absorb a gel,liquid, lotion, or cream previously applied to the skin.

The apparatus according to the present invention applies a sequence ofpulses over an area or skin, by using an array of electrodes that areplaced in contact with the skin. The array of electrodes are provided ona vibrating plate at the head of a probe, such as a hand-held probe 500as shown in FIG. 5. The array of electrodes may be a configured as shownin FIG. 2A in a first embodiment, whereby odd rows of electrodes areelectrically connected to each other, and thereby to a pulse generator400 (see also FIG. 4) via a first electrical connection. The even rowsof electrodes are electrically connected to each other, and also to thepulse generator 400 via a second electrical connection. The array ofelectrodes on the vibrating plate may alternatively be configured asshown in FIG. 2B in a second embodiment, whereby odd rows of roundelectrodes are electrically connected to each other, and thereby to thepulse generator 400 via a first electrical connection. The even rows ofround electrodes are electrically connected to each other, and therebyto the pulse generator 400 via a second electrical connection.

The increase of the transpiration of the skin that is obtained by way ofthe present invention has the effect of increasing the absorption ofliquids, creams, lotions, or gels that have been previously provided onthe skin in the area between where the electrodes are applied to theskin.

The electrical pulses that are applied on the skin in order to enhancethe transpiration of the skin are pulses obtained by a discharge of acapacitor on the skin. A square-wave pulse input to a primary winding ofthe transformer 410 of FIG. 4, with an output of the secondary windingof the transformer 410 being coupled to the skin, provides the sameeffect as a discharging capacitor. The exponential pulses are generatedduring the rising edge and falling edge of each square-wave input pulse,and have opposite sign (positive for the rising edge, negative for thefalling edge). With the use of such a pulse generator as shown in FIG.4, it is possible to apply a burst of separate pulses (e.g., around 1000per second) to the skin, which provides a transpiration effect betterthan just providing one pulse to the skin.

Normally, when a square wave is applied to the skin, due to thecapacitive effect of the skin, it is possible to obtain about a threemicrosecond time constant exponential delay current. This is whathappens when a square wave voltage is applied to a circuit thatcorresponds to a resistor in parallel with a capacitor. With such acircuit, only the peak current is enhanced, charging to a maximumallowable voltage the skin capacitance by applying an electrical energyequal to the magnetic energy of the transformer 410. This effect mostlike provides for the opening of the cell membranes of the skin (toachieve the transpiration effect) only during the time when each pulseis applied to the skin.

The effect of applying the probe to the skin is that the skin vibratesdue to the electrical pulses applied by way of the array of electrodes.The electrical pulses are preferably applied at a fixed frequencybetween 200 and 10,000 Hz (optimally at a frequency value between 2,500to 3,000 Hz), and are grouped in a burst. The ON time of each burst is afixed value between 5 to 50 milliseconds and the OFF time between twoconsecutive bursts is a fixed value between 5 to 50 milliseconds (thepreferred burst ON time is 10 milliseconds and the preferred OFF timebetween consecutive bursts is 10 milliseconds).

As described above, the electrical pulses applied to the skin by way ofthe electrodes are preferably exponential pulses with peak-to-peakvoltage of 160 V at a fixed frequency between 2,500 to 3,000 Hz. One wayof providing such electrical pulses is by an electrical structure thatcorresponds to a pulse generator 400 as shown in FIG. 4, in which atransformer 410 is used as an element. The transformer 410, as well asthe other elements of the pulse generator 400, are preferably housedwithin the probe 500 of FIG. 5.

Referring back to FIG. 4, the primary winding 420 of the transformer 410is driven by a transistor 430 that is switched on and off, and thesecondary winding 440 of the transformer 410 is directly applied to thearray of electrodes (see FIGS. 1A or 1B) with an electrical resistance450 provided therebetween. The electrical resistance 450 may be 200 Kohmor some value in that range (e.g., 100 Kohm to 500 Kohm), and isprovided in order to avoid high voltages when the array of electrodesare not applied to the skin, so that in that case it operates as an opencircuit. In such a situation, the peak-to-peak voltage is 400 V orthereabouts.

As described above, along with the electrical pulses applied to theskin, a mechanical vibration is also provided to the skin in order toincrease the absorption of a substance previously applied on the skin.

The absorption effect is enhanced by the simultaneous increase oftranspiration, whereby the absorption effect is greatest when themechanical vibration is synchronized in phase and in frequency with theelectric pulse application. Thus, in the example discussed above, whilethe electrical burst of pulses (at 2,200 Hz) are provided to the skin ata burst ON/OFF frequency, e.g., 50 Hz, by way of an electrode array, theskin is also mechanically vibrated at the same frequency, e.g., 50 Hz,by way of the vibrating plate. The mechanical vibration and theelectrical burst application are also preferably provided in phase withrespect to each other, in order to increase the skin absorption effect.There are several well known ways to achieve this frequency and phasesynchronization. In the preferred embodiments described herein, anoptical sensor (not shown) detects the movement of the eccentric of themotor, and gates the burst of electrical pulses based on the detectedmovement.

Thus, in the example discussed above, while the burst of electricalpulses are provided to the skin by way of the electrode array, the skinis also mechanically vibrated at the same frequency by way of thevibrating plate. The mechanical vibration and electrical pulseapplication is also preferably provided in phase with respect to eachother, in order to increase the skin absorption effect.

Moreover, the absorption effect is further enhanced when the mechanicalvibration is applied orthogonal to the surface of the skin. Anexplanation of the physical phenomena of the present invention is that,while the electrical pulses “stretch” the skin, thus increasingperiodically the diameter of the pores of the skin, at the same time themechanical vibration “pumps” the substances (gel, liquid or cream)inside the skin (through the opened pores). The mechanical andelectrical synchronization achieves the effect that the “pumping” action(due to the mechanical stimulation of the skin) takes place at the sameinstant in time that the pores are at their maximum “open” diameter (dueto the electrical stimulation of the skin).

The apparatus according to the present invention includes two mainparts:

A) a handle containing a power source (e.g., batteries) and a pulsegenerator; and

B) a vibrating head containing components for generating the vibrationand also containing an array of electrodes.

The vibrating head, in the preferred configuration, includes a D.C.electrical motor for generating vibrations to the skin. FIGS. 1A and 1Bshow two different views of the D.C. electrical motor 110, the rotatingshaft of the D.C. electrical motor 110 is an eccentric 120 to therebyprovide eccentric motion. The eccentric motion, during rotation of theD.C. electrical motor 110, generates a vibration onto the vibratingplate 130 (that is directly coupled to the D.C. electrical motor 110)that is at the same frequency of the rotation of the D.C. electricalmotor 110 (e.g., 50 Hz or 60 Hz or some other desired frequency).

As explained earlier, FIG. 4 shows circuitry for providing electricalpulses to the array of electrodes shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. Thecircuitry of FIG. 4 corresponds to a pulse generator 400, and ispreferably disposed within the housing of the probe 500 of FIG. 5. Theelectrical pulses generated by the pulse generator 400, when thosepulses are provided to the skin, preferably are sinusoidal pulses withpeak-to-peak voltage of 160 V at a frequency of between 2,500 Hz to3,000 Hz. Of course, other peak-to-peak voltage values (e.g., 100 V to200 V) and operating frequencies (50 Hz to 15,000 Hz) may be employed,while remaining within the scope of the invention as described herein.

FIGS. 1A and 1B show the vibrating plate 130 that is physically coupledto the D.C. electrical motor 110. The vibrating plate 130 preferably is50×50 mm in size, where parallel metallic stripes are deposited on it asshown in FIG. 2A, in order form the array of electrodes. The vibratingplate 130 is caused to vibrate at the same phase and frequency as theelectrical pulses provided to the skin by way of the array of electrodes(disposed on the vibrating plate), in order to enhance the skinabsorption effect.

As shown in FIG. 2A, which shows a first embodiment of an electrodearray 210 that is provided on a skin-side surface of the vibrating plate130, five parallel metallic stripes 220 are provided, each preferably ofa size of 50 mm×4 Each of the five electrodes 220 are preferably 6 mmapart from adjacently-positioned electrodes. The electrodes 220 arealternately electrically connected (e.g., the first, third and fifth roware electrically connected to each other by way of electrical line 250;and the second and fourth rows are electrically connected to each otherby way of electrical line 260). Other electrode array configurations arepossible while remaining within the scope of the invention, such havinga number of electrodes greater than two, such as having seven or eightelectrodes.

FIG. 2B shows a second embodiment of an electrode array that is providedon a skin-side surface of a vibration plate. In FIG. 2B, there areprovided 25 round electrodes 230 each of 4 mm diameter, each separatedat least 6 mm from adjacently-positioned round electrodes. The roundelectrodes 230 are alternately electrically connected to each other(e.g., the electrodes on the first, third and fifth rows areelectrically connected to each other by way of electrical line 270; andthe electrodes on the second and fourth rows are electrically connectedto each other by way of electrical line 280). The spacing between theelectrodes 230 shown in FIG. 2B may vary between 1 to 20 mm and the sizeof each of the electrodes 230 may vary between 1 to 20 mm in diameter.

FIG. 2C shows an array of electrodes provided on an outer surface of thevibration plate that faces the skin, according to the third embodimentof the invention. In FIG. 2C, there are provided electrodes 233 that aredisposed on the periphery of the vibration plate, which are electricallycoupled to each other, and which are electrically coupled to the pulsegenerator 400 by way of a first electrical connection 235. In FIG. 2C,there is also provided a centrally-positioned electrode 237, which isnot electrically coupled to any other of the electrodes, and which iselectrically coupled to the pulse generator 400 by way of a secondelectrical connection 239.

FIG. 3 shows a side view of a vibrating head 310 of a probe that is usedto provide both electrical and mechanical stimulation to the skinaccording to the present invention, in order to have a substancepreviously applied to the skin be absorbed better. As shown in FIG. 3,the vibrating head 310 includes the array of electrodes 320 provided ona skin-side surface thereof. The array of electrodes 320 may be providedin a manner such as shown in either FIGS. 2A or 2B, for example. Betweenthe array of electrodes 320 and the skin 330 there is provided asubstance 340 to be absorbed, whereby the substance 340 has beenpreviously applied to the skin 330 (e.g., applied to the skin between 30seconds to 2 minutes before the probe is to be applied to the skin 330).Application of mechanical vibrations and electrical pulses enhances theabsorption of the substance 340 into the skin 330.

FIG. 5 shows one configuration of a hand-held probe 500 that may be usedto provide both electrical and mechanical stimulation to the skin,according to the invention. The probe 500 is configured to be readilyheld by one hand of a user. A bottom portion of the probe 500, at whicha user's hand is gripped thereon to thereby hold the probe 500, mayinclude an outlet 510 for coupling an electrical cable to an electricaloutlet (e.g., wall outlet), so as to provide A.C. voltage to the probe500 in that manner. Alternatively, battery power may be used, by way ofbatteries (not shown) disposed within the housing of the probe 500.Battery power may be utilized when A.C. power is not readily available.Also, the pulse generator 400 of FIG. 4 is preferably housed at thehandle portion of the probe 500.

The head portion of the probe 500 is where the vibrating plate 130 (seeFIGS. 1A or 1B) is provided, and also where the D.C. electrical motor110 (see also FIGS. 1A or 1B) that provides the mechanical vibrations tothe vibrating plate 130 is preferably provided housed within. The arrayof electrodes (see FIGS. 2A or 2B) are provided on an outer surface ofthe vibrating plate 130, thereby facing the skin of a user to be treatedwith the probe 500.

A typical application time of the probe to the skin may be on the orderto 10s of seconds up to several minutes.

In a fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the output of the pulsegenerator 400 (see also FIG. 4) is connected to a D.C. current generator610, which induces a iontophoresis effect in addition to the previouslydescribed skin absorption/transpiration effects. The iontophoresiseffect is well known to those skilled in the art, and severalionthophoresis electrical generators are currently available in themarket, either D.C. or D.C. pulsed. A D.C. current output by the D.C.current generator 610 is applied between the electrodes of the probe anda ground plate that is connected with the patient's body. Depending onthe substance to be absorbed into the patient's skin, the patient groundplate connection is coupled to either the positive or the negative ofthe D.C. current generator 610, in a manner known to those skilled inthe art. Instead of using continuous D.C. current, there canalternatively be provided D.C. current pulses that have the same averagecurrent value as the continuous D.C. current case, and which have a dutycycle between 5 and 50% and a frequency between 10 and 5000 Hz. In sucha case, the peak current of the D.C. current pulses is higher during thepulsed (ON) times.

In a fifth embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a dispenser or chamber710, which is configured to hold liquid or cream or gel 720, isintegrated in the vibrating head of the probe. The dispenser or chamber710 is provided between an array of electrodes 705 and the vibratingplate 130. The burst of electrical pulses are applied by way of aconductive roller 740 that dispenses the liquid, and by the array ofelectrodes 705. A D.C. current as in the third embodiment can also beadded between the array of electrodes 705 and the patient's body, toinduce a iontophoresis effect as well. While the vibrating head is movedon the patient's skin, the roller 740 delivers the liquid or cream orgel 720 to the patient's skin.

The chamber 710 in which the roller 740 is disposed in the vibratinghead can be filled with a liquid, cream or gel substance 720 by way of aremovable cap (not shown). In particular, the cap is removed (e.g.,screwed off of the head of the probe), and then a user fills the chamber710, through the liquid inlet 760, with the substance 720 to be providedto the patient's skin. The user then closes the cap (e.g., screws itback onto the liquid inlet 760) to thereby keep the substance 720 withinthe chamber 710 of the probe until it is ready to be applied to thepatient's skin by way of the roller 740.

FIG. 8 shows a front view of the electrodes 705, which are shown as twostripe electrodes that are electrically connected to each other by wayof electrical connection 820. Of course, other types of electrodearrays, such as those shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, can alternatively beused in this fifth embodiment. The exposed surface 830 of the roller 740that applies the substance to the patient's skin, is shown in FIG. 8.Dispensing gaps 840 are also shown in FIG. 8, whereby these gaps 840allow the liquid, cream or gel substance 720 in the chamber 710 togradually come out of the chamber 710 and thereby be applied to thepatient's skin by way of the roller 740.

In a sixth embodiment of the invention, an apparatus for enhancingabsorption of the skin includes an array of electrodes, and a pulsegenerator that is electrically coupled to the array of electrodes. Thedisposition of the array of electrodes may be any of the dispositionsshown in FIGS. 2A-2C, for example. In the sixth embodiment, electricalpulses outputted by the pulse generator 400 to the array of electrodesare a sequence of exponential pulses, such as the pulse train shown inFIG. 4B. The exponential electrical pulses are applied to the skin byway of the array of electrodes and are generated by the secondarywinding of a high voltage transformer with the primary winding driven bya square wave voltage, as seen by FIGS. 4, 4A and 4B.

In the sixth embodiment, unlike the previous embodiments, a vibratinghead is not utilized, but rather skin absorption enhancement is obtainedjust by the providing of the electrical pulses to the skin by way of thearray of electrodes. The array of electrodes according to the sixthembodiment are provided on a plate at the head of the probe, whereby thehead and the plate do not vibrate. Thus, in the sixth embodiment, thestructure as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B would not be utilized, but ratherjust a plate for holding the electrodes in place at the head of theprobe would be needed.

In a seventh embodiment, a vibrating head is utilized, as in the firstthrough fifth embodiments, but where the vibrating head is capable ofbeing turned on or off, by way of a control (e.g., switch) provided onthe probe. The control can readily be manipulated by an operator of theprobe, in order to treat a patient.

Different embodiments of the present invention have been describedaccording to the present invention. Many modifications and variationsmay be made to the techniques and structures described and illustratedherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Accordingly, it should be understood that the apparatuses describedherein are illustrative only and are not limiting upon the scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for enhancing absorption of theskin, comprising: a vibrating head; an array of electrodes disposed onthe vibrating head; and an electrical pulse generator that iselectrically coupled to the array of electrodes, wherein electricalpulses are applied to the skin by way of the array of electrodes, at asame time mechanical vibrations are provided to the skin by way of thevibrating head, in order to enhance the absorption of a substanceapplied to the skin, and wherein bursts of the electrical pulses areprovided to the skin at a same frequency as the mechanical vibrations,to provide for a synchronous application of the mechanical vibrationsand the bursts of the electrical pulses to the skin, in order to furtherenhance the absorption of the substance applied to the skin.
 2. Theapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electrical pulses areexponentially-shaped pulses of substantially equal current strength andof substantially equal duration.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 1,further comprising: a roller disposed in the vibrating head, wherein thesubstance is liquid or gel, and wherein the substance is applied to theskin by way of the roller.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 3,further comprising: an iontophoresis generator electrically connected tothe electrodes, wherein an iontophoresis effect is provided to thepatient as a result.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thesubstance is collagen.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe electrical pulses are provided to the skin at a same phase as themechanical vibrations, in order to still further enhance the absorptionof the substance applied to the skin.
 7. A treatment method forenhancing absorption of substances provided on a skin surface of apatient, comprising: a) applying a substance, that is intended to beabsorbed on the skin; b) applying a vibration to the skin of between 10to 200 Hz, the vibration being provided by way of a vibrating plate thatis placed on the skin, the vibrating plate being disposed on a hand-heldprobe; and c) applying a sequence of bursts of electrical pulses at afrequency between 50 to 15,000 Hz and peak voltage between 20 and 200 Vto an array of electrodes that are placed on the skin, the array ofelectrodes being disposed on the vibrating plate, wherein the sequenceof bursts of electrical pulses and the vibration are provided to theskin at a same time in order to enhance absorption of the substanceapplied to the skin.
 8. The treatment method according to claim 7,wherein the electrodes are parallel metallic stripes that arealternately connected to each other and that are provided on an outersurface of the vibrating plate.
 9. The treatment method according toclaim 7, wherein the electrodes are round electrodes alternatelyelectrically connected to each other and that are provided on an outersurface of the vibrating plate.
 10. The treatment method according toclaim 7, wherein a D.C. current is applied between the electrodes and aground plate connected to the patient.
 11. The treatment methodaccording to claim 7, wherein the applying step a) is accomplished bydispensing of liquid or gel or cream or lotion by way of a rollerintegrated in the probe.
 12. The treatment method according to claim 11,wherein a D.C. current is applied between the electrodes and a plateconnected to the patient.
 13. The method according to claim 7, whereinthe substance applied in step a) is collagen.